


It's Dangerous To Go Alone

by musiclvr1112



Series: Completing the Compendium [4]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Action, Directions, Discovery, F/M, Fluff, Gifts, It's dangerous to go alone, Post-Ganon, Stray Animals, Traveling, Wings, Zelink Month 2018, bug catcher, hyrule compendium, war's end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-21
Updated: 2018-08-31
Packaged: 2019-06-30 11:08:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15750450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musiclvr1112/pseuds/musiclvr1112
Summary: Continuing fromlast week's fic, Zelda learns more about adventuring and fighting monsters as she and Link traverse Hyrule together.





	1. Discovery

 

“I think I’ve figured it out.”

If you had asked Zelda when she woke up where she thought she would be by the end of the day, her answer certainly would not have been _wandering around in the dark._ Yet here she was, Link’s hand in one of hers and a torch in the other, barely able to see even a foot in front of her.

This had all started earlier that morning at Serenne Stable. Zelda had been sitting on the ground right next to the fire, allowing the flames to chase the morning chill from her skin while she scrolled through their compendium so far. She had her back leaning against the log bench that Link sat on so that his legs hugged her arms as he leaned over her to prepare breakfast in the cooking pot.

“We’ve now logged Naydra and Dinraal into the compendium. But there’s another dragon, isn’t there?” She leaned her head back to look up at him, but his only response was to smile and keep humming as he watched the food. “Still not telling me, I see.” She lowered her gaze to the slate once again. “Well the third one must be the spirit of courage, so I’m willing to guess it’s somewhere in the Faron region.” She peered up again but if anything, his smile had only become more unyielding. “I know you know,” she accused, narrowing her eyes at him.

He bent down to place a swift kiss on her forehead before sitting up again with an impish grin. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You’re withholding information from me.”

“Maybe. But only because I like watching you figure it out for yourself.”

She had just opened her mouth to argue something back at him when the stable hand approached. “Good morning! You two must have come in awfully late last night; I was already asleep! Are you adventurers?”

The woman seemed friendly enough with that welcoming smile on her face as she sat down on the bench opposite them, though Zelda couldn’t help but notice how her eyes kept traversing Link’s form. She supposed she was somewhat used to that by now though; Link had always had no shortage of admirers, even back before calamity struck. It had given her small bouts of jealousy back then—back before she knew how he felt or even fully understood her own feelings—but now she was confident enough in his love for her to derive only amusement and pride from the affections of others.

Zelda looked up at him in silent question and he shrugged back.

“Yes, I suppose we are,” she said, never having really considered the title. It was certainly adequate though, given that they had spent the last several months solely traveling, sightseeing and taking pictures of everything they encountered. They hadn’t even been back to their home in Hateno since…well, since before they decided to start traveling.

“Oh, good!” the woman sighed in heavy relief. “I was worried you were more researchers like those three over there.” She indicated to three men having what looked like a somewhat heated debate off to the side. “They’ve been talking my ear off about their Leviathan theories since they arrived.”

“Leviathan theories?” Zelda sat up, her attention piqued. “About what?”

The woman passed off the subject with a wave. “Just about them all dying; nothing we don’t already know. But I’ve got something far more interesting for adventurers like you.” She leaned forward conspiratorially, resting her elbows on her knees and looking at them with a mischievous (almost flirtatious, really) spark in her eyes. “Northeast of here, on the other side of Mount Drena, you can find some ruins that are always dark—even during the day. It’s like a shroud of some sort covers the place, hiding it from the sun.”

“Really?” she asked, starry eyed in intrigue. “Has anyone ever gone in?”

“Not that I’ve heard of.”

“I think we could change that. Link?” Leaning back once again, Zelda found the knight looking back at her with pursed lips, eyes narrowed in concern. “What?”

“It sounds dangerous.”

She almost laughed as she gave him an inquisitive look. “You fought Calamity Ganon.”

_“You what?”_ the stable hand asked, but they ignored her.

“But I don’t want to put _you_ in danger. Who knows what could be hiding in old shadowy ruins.”

_“You fought Calamity Ganon?”_

“Don’t be silly; I’ll have you with me.” He frowned at her. “Like you said, it sounds dangerous. So I don’t want you going alone. Besides,” she took his hand in hers. “I’m not as defenseless as I once was. I’ve had a really great teacher changing that.”

Thus they found themselves now—four hours later and carrying as many tough and hearty elixirs as they could—lost in the shadows of the Typhlo Ruins.

“I think the torches are leading the way,” she said as she shared their flame with the pedestal in front of them. The standing torches that decorated the ruins all portrayed the shape of a bird, but the way they were facing was too inconsistent to be a coincidence. “I think we’re supposed to walk the way they’re pointing.”

He hummed in agreement and they kept walking, Link tightening his grip on her hand the slightest bit as the path led them into some dense trees. In his free hand he held the master sword at the ready, and he had been silent since they entered, eyes and ears continuously scanning for danger. So far, however, they had only encountered wolves and some keese.

“I wonder what this place used to be,” she pondered as they walked. “I’ve read of various ruins across Hyrule, but I can’t remember anything like this. The birds must be special somehow. I’ll have to do some research when we…” she trailed off as Link slowed to a stop, muscles tense. She closed her mouth and opened her ears.

In the silence around them, she could just barely hear the whirring of what sounded like…something breathing. Something big.

“Up there,” she whispered, “There’s a Sheikah orb. But what’s that underneath it?” She could tell that the glowing orange orb sat atop a large figure of some sort, but it was completely shrouded in darkness.

“A hinox,” he responded, and she could already see the gears turning in his head as he made a plan of attack.

“Let me help you.”

Those blue eyes turned to her, contemplating, and in the glowing light of her torch, she could see the smallest hint of a smile on his lips. “Alright, but I want you to stay back with a bow. The hinox’s weak spot is its eye. If you shoot it, it’ll be stunned and I can hit it from the ground.”

“Okay,” she nodded giddily. She had taken on bokoblins, moblins, and lizalfos, but she had yet to face a Hinox. From what she had read, they weren’t particularly daunting foes—the danger was just in their size. They were slow and dumb, so as long as you knew how to strike effectively, you should be safe.

“First, take this.” He handed her one of the tough elixirs they had concocted—the one that had come out most potent.

“Okay, but you drink one too.” He smiled and did as he was told. She didn’t care that he had fought countless hinoxes. The smallest thing could always go wrong, and she didn’t want to think about what might happen if he found himself caught underneath that giant ogre’s foot. Besides, they could always just make more elixirs; it didn’t make any sense to use them sparingly.

“Ready?” With his sword in one hand, he held their torch out toward the nearest bird pedestal, knowing that the hinox would probably wake the moment it was lit.

She nocked an arrow.

“Ready.”

 


	2. Gifts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelink Month Day 20: Gifts

 

“Zelda, you’ve already gotten plenty of pictures of mountain goats, _come on.”_

“But I want to get a really good—hey!”

Zelda jaunted after Link as he walked away with the stolen Sheikah Slate in his hand. As she approached, he held it out of her reach and trapped her in his free arm, dragging her along down the hill.

“You can take more pictures later; there’s something I want to show you.”

It wasn’t until she stopped struggling that he offered her the device again. They were already half way down toward the water by then. She glared at him as she snatched it away. “You know I would probably be a lot more cooperative if you told me what it was.”

“Okay,” he said as they stepped down onto the rocky shore. “It’s a shrine.”

She gasped excitedly and skipped forward the second she saw the glowing blue structure. “Ooooh a shrine!”

The sounds of lapping waves and howling winds surrounded her as she rushed out onto the small body of land in the corner of Horon Lagoon. She stepped up onto the platform that would have been used to unlock the shrine in the first place and gazed at the water out before her. A strong gust of wind blew her hair out behind her and she lifted her arms to feel its power surround her. It brought with it a pleasant, refreshing mist that interrupted the day’s overbearing heat.

“This place is lovely,” she noted as Link stepped up beside her. “But I don’t get it. You’ve already completed this shrine. Why did you want to bring me here?”

He smiled and reached into his pack. “Because I want to teach you to use this.”

Zelda couldn’t believe her eyes. Sitting in Link’s outstretched hand was a paraglider, just like the one her father had given him, except this one seemed to be made with fabric in her favorite shade of pink.

She stared at the object in awe as she took it. “How did you…?”

“I’ve been working on making one for you ever since we had to climb down from that Sheikah tower. Sorry it took so long.”

“You _made_ this!?” Analyzing the glider carefully, scrutinizing every little detail, she would have believed it was crafted by an expert and purchased for a fine sum of rupees.

“Yeah,” he shrugged. “It wasn’t that hard. I just had to replicate the design of mine.” She was still inspecting it when she caught sight of him scratching the back of his head nervously. “Do you like i—?”

“I love it!” she exclaimed, cutting him off before he could finish the question. His shoulders dropped and he smiled in relief. “How do I use it?”

Five minutes later, Zelda was standing on the edge of a jutted out rock with the wind at her back.

“Okay, when you’re ready, jump and catch the wind.”

Her heart beat erratically and her nerves felt like they were dancing. She could almost _feel_ the blood rushing through her veins. It was anxiety-inducing and exhilarating all at the same time.

 _Just jump and catch the wind,_ she repeated in her head. She gripped the wooden handles tight and took a deep breath, letting it out slow. _Just jump and catch the wind. Just jump—_ she jumped— _and—_

“Aahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!” she screamed in a mixture of fright and elation as she was suddenly carried forward on the draft, propelled toward the small rock island in front of her. A moment later, the wind gave out and she dropped, splashing into the water as her foot slipped on the rocks.

Cold water rushed in, soaking straight through her Hylian gear. She heard Link’s muffled voice scream something as she came back up.

Her head broke the surface of the water and she sucked in a huge breath of air, whipping her sopping hair back behind her.

“Zelda!” he was right in front of her all of a sudden, grabbing her arms and pulling her up. “Are you okay?!”

“Did you see that???” she exclaimed, a giddy smile stretched across her cheeks. “I did it!!” She held onto his arm as she bent over to remove her now soggy shoes. “That was so much fun!! How do you keep from paragliding every minute of every day!?” Then she stood on the rock with bare feet and started pulling her drenched tunic up over her head.

“What are you doing??” he asked, voice chalk full of those nerves he always had when she did something even slightly dangerous.

“I’m taking off my clothes,” she said simply as the tunic fell to the ground with a _splat._ “I’m probably going to keep falling in the water, so I may as well just do this wearing only my undergarments as if we were swimming.” After she wrestled her legs out of the clingy wet pants, she picked up the items and scrambled up onto the tall rock next to her to lay them flat. With the way the sun had been beating down all day, she was sure they would be dry in a matter of hours. The weather really was perfect for something like this.

“You’re sure you want to keep going? You’re not hurt?” he asked, taking her by the waist and just lowering her to the ground as she struggled to climb down. She giggled—both at being held by him like that and the sweet concern in his eyes—and hooked her arms around his neck. Moments like these were the ones where she really appreciated him being roughly the same height as her.

“Not at all,” she said. “That was fun. And I was half expecting to fall anyway. I want to keep going until I can glide through the entire wind path! And then I want to race!” She pressed her lips against his then—absolutely floating on joy and appreciation and adrenaline—and didn’t pull away until she felt him smile through the kiss. “What do you say?”

“I say you’re on,” he replied, pressing his forehead against hers and looking at her with daring blue eyes. They melted into pure admiration a moment later. “And that you’re really beautiful when you smile like that.”

That smile didn’t fade the slightest bit until she was fast asleep later that night, exhausted after an entire day of flying.


	3. Stray Animals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelink Month Day 21: Stray Animals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leviathans count as stray animals, right?

 

“Almost…got it…”

_Click!_

“Haha!” Zelda leapt up in triumph, immediately scaring away the butterfly she had just captured a picture of. “Link! I finally got a smotherwing! Now we just need a fireproof lizard while we’re… Link?”

From behind the helmet of his fireproof gear, it was hard to see the knight’s expression as he stared out over the ledge. After paying a visit to Goron City, the two had been clambering across the Eldin mountain range for days, just trying to get pictures of the heat-specific creatures that lived there. With the hiked up temperatures so close to Death Mountain, they hadn’t been able to wear their sneaky Sheikah gear to accomplish the job—not unless they wanted to be terribly sick off of fireproof elixirs—so it had been much harder to get close enough to capture pictures. Now that all they had left were those pesky fireproof lizards, Zelda was itching to get somewhere a little more temperate.

She walked over to him, each step clunking under the heavy metal armor. Straight out ahead of them was the very edge of Hyrule, where the Eldin mountains ended and the canyon separating them from their neighbors began. “What is it?”

“May I borrow the map?” he asked, scrutinizing something further down the mountain. She handed the slate to him, confused and curious. He finally tore his eyes from whatever he was focusing on to look down at the object.

She watched as he zoomed in on their location, then moved further North—right where he had been staring. “What…is that?” she asked, peering over his shoulder at what appeared to be bones on the map. He set a stamp on it.

“Remember those Leviathan researchers at Serenne Stable?”

An excited smile crept to her lips as she connected the dots. “You think…?” He nodded. “Well then,” she got out her paraglider, “shall we?”

He paused her movements with a hand over hers and turned, those blue eyes staring at her from behind the metal visor. “There tend to be a lot of monsters toward the outskirts of the map. Really strong monsters. We need to be careful.” He looked down at the map again, coming closer so that she could clearly see where he was pointing. “Let’s land on these rocks first so that we have a high vantage point to check for any danger. Then we can get closer and make a safe strategy.” Zelda nodded her understanding. She thought she could see a bit of a smile from behind his mask then as he handed her back the slate. “Alright, let’s go.”

* * *

“Link, have you ever seen a large door in the middle of the mountains?”

The knight paused in his collecting of wildberries to look up at her with big owl eyes and she waved him over to where she stood. Snow crunched under his boots as he approached and looked to where she was pointing. She had thought her eyes were deceiving her at first, but the longer she looked, the more she couldn’t deny that there were most definitely a set of giant doors at the bottom of the dip in the mountain ahead.

He smiled beside her. “I have actually, once. Let’s go, I think you’ll like this.”

She was surprised when a minute later, he dropped down from his paraglider not all the way down in front of the doors, but up toward the top of the slope.

“The doors have to be broken open,” he said, starting to push around a snowball so that it grew. “Here, help me push this over the edge.”

She immediately ran up beside him as he began to struggle with the thing—it was nearly the same size as him at that point—and together they sent it rolling down the hill towards the doors.

They subsequently watched as it got stuck in a ditch.

Link frowned when they approached to see the snowball down in a small pit of water. “Maybe there’s another path we can push it down?” he pondered, looking around them. But the rest of the slope was broken up by little snowy hills. If only they could build some sort of bridge in the pit or—

“Or we could use cryonis!” she said, staring down at the water gathered in the bottom of the hole. “Though, we’ll have to get the snowball out of there first.”

“No problem,” Link said, and he pulled out the great flameblade they had found a few weeks ago at the Eldin great skeleton. He stabbed it down through the center of the snowball and it rapidly melted around it.

“Perfect,” she said less than a minute later with only water left in the ditch. She raised the Sheikah Slate to the puddle and up sprang a tall block of ice, the perfect height to act as a bridge. Then she looked up at her knight with a bright smile. “One more time?”

“One more time.”

This time, when they pushed a snowball down the path, it smashed into the doors below, breaking them open.

“What do you think is in there?” she asked as they walked down. His only response was to smile, confirming her suspicions. “A shrine??”

It turned out to be even better.

As if the cavern behind the doors wasn’t already spectacular enough with its glowing crystalized walls of ice, deep inside it housed not only an ancient Sheikah shrine, but the skeleton of a great leviathan of old.

“Wow,” Zelda whispered in awe. Beside her, she noticed Link take the Sheikah Slate from her hip to capture a picture. “That’s evidence for Onya’s ice age theory,” she giggled. “Think we’ll find any support for Garshon’s drought?”

“I do, actually,” he said, smiling out of the corner of his lips. “Ready to meet the fourth great fairy?”


	4. Directions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelink Month Day 22: Directions

 

“Yahaha!” Zelda giggled as the little child of the forest sprang out in a pop of green leaves and sparkles before her. “You found me!” Even though she had been uncovering them for a few days now, seeing the mischievous little spirit children still managed to bring her great joy every single time.

As she and Link continued on their path up the hill, she kept her eye out for any more of those little puzzles. “So there are really a bunch of Koroks in the Lost Woods?”

He nodded. “That’s where their home is.”

“Incredible. Do you think they were there when I was putting the sword to rest, and were just hiding? Or could I really just not see them at all?”

Link shrugged, eyes dead set on the path ahead. “Not sure. From what I can remember, I don’t think I was able to see them back then either.”

She hummed in thought and barely even noticed as he stepped the slightest bit closer to her. While Link had apparently been encountering the Koroks ever since he woke up, she herself had only just begun seeing them when she followed a strange path of disappearing flowers the other day. When the thing jumped out at her, she had just about dropped dead from a heart attack. Her companion’s laughter had quickly set her at ease though, knowing that if the ever-cautious knight was reacting in such a way, it must be safe.

But then just like that, the Korok children were all around them! Everywhere they went, she would see them floating peacefully at the tops of trees that Link had already climbed or sitting on rocks he had overturned. When she had asked why he hadn’t told her, he just raised his hands in defense (she may or may not have been smacking his arm) and said he thought she already knew.

_“Didn’t you see them when you took the sword to the Korok village?” he had asked._

_“To where now??”_

Needless to say, she insisted they set out for the village the next day.

“Perhaps it has something to do with the goddess-given abilities or…” her words slowed almost immediately as a sudden chill seeped down through her clothes, permeating her skin and traversing her veins. Mere moments ago, they had been in the same lush green forestry that covered most of Hyrule, with even a few beads of sweat on the backs of their necks from the mid-afternoon sun. Now they found themselves surrounded in fog and that otherworldly blue glow that was all at once enchanting and haunting. “The Lost Woods,” she whispered. Almost without thinking, she looped her arm through Link’s and huddled close to him. Even if she ought to have nothing to fear, the place was still disconcerting.

He continued walking at the same pace—hardly even phased by the change of scenery—and looked at her in surprise. “What’s wrong? You’ve been here before.”

“Yes, but it isn’t exactly the most comforting of places.” She frowned, thinking back to that time. “Plus, my mind was a little bit preoccupied back then. I had just sent you off to the Shrine of Resurrection. I was about to go back to the castle to fight Ganon on my own. And…” she stole a glance at the sword on his back—the sword which had remained silent ever since the calamity had ended, “…I had the Master Sword guiding me. Come to think of it,” she looked at him, though his eyes were still focused on the path, scanning the very air around them. “How did you find your way?”

“Torches,” he mumbled, squinting through the mist.

“Torches?”

The hard look on his face eased then and he nodded up ahead. “Torches.”

She followed his gaze to see a single torch casting its light over yet another hauntingly beautiful set of ruins, just like she’d been seeing across Hyrule over the months they’d been traveling. At the very forefront stood an archway that she remembered having been far more in-tact the last time she was there. These particular ruins she recalled having read about in countless ancient Hyrulian texts—the entryway of the path that had once lead to a sacred ceremonial grounds. Ever since the spirit mist had settled over the island forest, however, no one had been able to find those sacred grounds again. It was said that only those chosen by the goddess would find their way there.

“I can’t believe this is all that’s left of what was once a sacred temple.” She let go of Link’s arm to graze her fingers over the ancient stone walls with sorrow and admiration. “They were already deteriorating back when I was here, but in the last 100 years alone, they’ve…”

“Zelda, wait—!”

Link’s gasp gave her pause just as she stepped around the outside of the wall, her hand still skimming the worn down brick. She looked up just in time to see the color drain from his face as he reached out toward her before suddenly everything was obscured by the fog. All at once, it flooded in, overtaking her. Her vision went completely white, and all she could hear was the frightening giggle of a Korok.

Then she was right back at the mouth of the forest, coated in a cold sweat and gasping for air amidst the sort of panic she usually got from a nightmare. Mere feet away, she could see Link frantically turn to face her.

He immediately rushed forward, strong hands clamping down on her arms. “Are you okay?”

She swallowed, her heart rate slowly steadying again. “I-I think so.” Aside from the nerves, she felt normal at least. She glanced about, trying to pinpoint the source of the eerie laughter. “I thought I heard a Korok.” She tried to keep her voice steady, but she was sure he heard the slight tremble of fear when he pulled her into his arms and settled a warm palm over her hair.

“Yes, there are some that haunt the forest. They find joy in watching travelers get lost.” The annoyance rang clear in his tone and she let out a small huff of laughter. She was beginning to understand why he sometimes seemed irritated at the mischievous little children. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I should have warned you about that.”

“What happened?” she asked, her voice a bit stronger now. She pulled back and this time, Link interlocked his fingers through hers, holding her hand tight as they walked through the archway again.

“You strayed from the path. It’s extremely narrow and hard to see if you don’t know what you’re looking for. That’s why everyone gets lost.”

“So how do you know where to go?” Link took an immediate right at the torch and for the first time, she noticed another one up ahead. “You follow the torches?”

“To an extent. But look at the wind.”

 _Look at the wind?_ Frowning in confusion, Zelda raised her eyes to the blue mist that floated through the air around them. As they turned a corner around the next torch, she noted the breeze pushing sparks in the direction they walked and realized the tiny glowing lights in the air followed suit.

In awe, she whispered, “the wind guides you.”

“Mmhmm. And that’s why this—” he pulled out a torch he had packed away before they came, “—is very important.”

They had reached what seemed like it should have been the end of the path. Two torches stood at their sides, but there were no more in sight to lead the way. Link lit his in the flame beside him and they both watched as the sparks flew away from them, dancing gently on the breeze.

She squeezed his hand and smiled, drawing closer to him. “Not so scary anymore?” he asked, smiling at her out of the corner of his eye.

“Not at all. In fact,” she peered at those beautiful blue eyes, admiring the way they simultaneously inspired gentle love and strong determination as they scanned the path ahead, “I kind of like it.”


	5. Wings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelink Month Day 23: Wings

 

“And you’re _sure_ I can use the Flight Range even though I’m not Rito?”

She could hear Link chuckling from where he stood on the ladder below her. “Yes, I promise. Now hurry up, it’s freezing down here.”

Fixing him one last glare, she did as she was told and continued up the ladder. She knew full well that he was warm enough both wearing his insulating Rito clothing and the flamesword strapped to his back. Not to mention that he was far better at withstanding harsh weather conditions than she was and even she was feeling fine, especially compared to their trip up into the Hebra Mountains weeks ago.

She sighed overdramatically upon reaching the upper landing and immediately turned to huff at him with hands on her hips. “There, Mr. Impatient.”

“Hello.”

Zelda yelped, nearly leaping out of her skin as a deep voice suddenly came from behind her. She spun back to see that the Flight Range was not in fact empty. Sitting by the cooking pot under the small hut was a Rito warrior staring at her with hard, unyielding eyes—a gaze that quite honestly reminded her of the one Link used to wear.

Those eyes shifted to her side a moment later. “Ah, Link. I thought I heard your voice.”

Link put a hand gently on Zelda’s back and walked forward. “Hello, Teba. It’s good to see you again.” The two took a seat next to the fire and she thought she could see the man’s gaze soften the slightest bit—the way one might look at someone with whom they shared a deep respect or understanding. “Zelda, I’d like to introduce you to Teba—he’s the Rito warrior who battled Vah Medoh with me.”

“Oh!” She straightened up, smiling at the man. “You’re Teba! It is an honor to meet you. Without your help, we never could have defeated Calamity Ganon.”

“Zelda?” he asked, looking back and forth between the two of them. “As in _Princess_ Zelda?” They both nodded. The warrior immediately dipped his head in a respectful bow. “My apologies. The honor is all mine, Princess.”

“Oh, please call me Zelda. I’m not much a fan of formalities.”

“Very well,” he acquiesced, raising his head again. Was he smiling? It was hard to tell; the man was so stoic. “What brings the two of you out here?”

“For Zelda to practice her shooting. She wants to fight a lynel.”

 _“Eventually,”_ she reminded, not missing the attitude in his tone. “I didn’t say I wanted to fight one _tomorrow.”_

He still pursed his lips at her in a stubborn glare. Even if they needed pictures of different types of lynels for the compendium, he was hesitant to let her get within even a mile of one. She understood why—he had said that some of the lynels he fought were possibly even more formidable than Ganon himself—but that’s why she was going to start with a weaker one, and _after_ she’d done a good deal of training.

“Lynels are dangerous creatures,” Teba said, drawing their attention back to the conversation. “If you’re going to fight one, it is important to know how to shoot them head on. My son is having his target practice right now, but the Flight Range is all yours in a few minutes when he’s finished.”

As if on cue, a cheer of delight came from the target zone and all three of them turned to watch as a young Rito boy landed on the wooden ledge with a bow slung over a wing. “I managed to get 10 of them that time!” he exclaimed, rushing forward. The boy paused for just a moment when he realized he was running up on more than just Teba, then smiled excitedly. “Link! Are you here to try my challenge again?? I’m catching up to you!”

The conversation continued with them sharing tips on hitting the targets or something like that, but she stopped paying attention—distracted by the bow the boy had just dropped on the ground next to them. It looked to be of Rito design, with a gold feathered shape on the ends and lined with the bright multicolored fabrics characteristic of Rito fashion. Zelda was certain it wasn’t in the compendium yet.

“What is the name of that bow?” she asked, raising the Sheikah Slate to take a picture.

“It’s a Swallow Bow!” Tulin answered excitedly. “Wanna try it??”

“O-oh um,” she looked up from logging the bow’s information into the compendium to see three sets of eyes on her. She cast a nervous glance at the rough winds of the Flight Range. It would be a boldfaced lie if she were to say the thought of paragliding through that wasn’t absolutely terrifying. But she supposed that if Link had been willing to bring her here, it couldn’t be too dangerous—or at the very least, it was something she could handle. She smiled despite the way her nerves trembled. “Sure.”

Five minutes later, updrafts were lifting her hair away from her shoulders and whistling through her ears even just standing on the wooden platform overlooking the target zone. “You can start from right here if you want,” Link was speaking to her in a soothing voice and she was sure he could sense how nervous she was. “Just hold up your paraglider and it’ll lift you up into the air. It’s a long way down, so when you take out your bow, you have plenty of time. And even if you fall, you’ll land in water and we’ll have the fire right here ready to warm you up again.”

She nodded, gripping the handles of her paraglider tight. Her whole body was screaming in a mix of anticipatory excitement and dread. Mostly the latter. But she pushed that down with a deep breath and stepped up to the edge.

It was just as Zelda pushed off into the air that she heard the deep rumble of Teba’s voice speaking to Link behind her.

“She makes a fine mate for you, Champion.”

Followed by the words that really made her heart soar.

“Yes, she really does.”


	6. Bug Catcher

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelink Month Day 24: Bug Catcher

 

“How do you _do_ that!?”

After fumbling to catch yet another beetle—which really ought to be one of the easiest things to catch since they just sat there until you scared them off—Zelda huffed in amazement and agony as Link swiftly collected not one, not two, but _three_ nearby lizards before they scurried away. He stuffed them in the inventory with a shrug of his bare, sunburned shoulders.

It was their third day on Eventide Island and the both of them were quite ready to be done and finally go home. Traveling all about Hyrule was a lot of fun—and their journey was surely far from complete as there was still so much to see—but they were weary and needed some time back in their bed in Hateno before they continued. The two had been on their way back when they’d spotted the dangerous island they’d heard rumors of and decided they may as well take one last adventure before relaxing.

The first day was actually a great deal of fun—albeit dangerous. Upon landing, they lost all their clothes and belongings and were forced to rely on the Sheikah Slate to do much of anything. It didn’t help that about two keese, four bokoblins, and an octorok all spotted them the moment they arrived. But after running around in circles for twenty minutes throwing bombs and stealing the bokoblins’ weapons, they were able to swim in the refreshing waters catching fish and ended up having a rather delicious meal on the beach. They even ended up catching photos of stalkoblins for the compendium after the sun set.

The second day had been a bit more of a challenge. In order to unlock the shrine guarding the island, they had to infiltrate an entire monster camp and retrieve a Sheikah orb. Thankfully they’d happened upon some mighty bananas before going in, so it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been. They did still come out of it with a fair bit of scrapes and bruises though. Nothing that wouldn’t heal, but enough to make them cautious on an island such as this.

Now they were sweeping the island clean of all the weapons, creatures, and critters they could find so as to prepare for their final adversary: the hinox. They were tired, their skin was tender, and they were covered in sand, but still a small part of Zelda was extremely excited. The hinox on the island had blue skin, which meant it was stronger than the red ones Link had allowed her to face up until then. Not only was she excited at the prospect of fighting a stronger monster, but this also meant she would finally be able to get a blue hinox photo for the compendium.

Besides, they weren’t unprepared. They had cooked up just about every single food ingredient they could find and were ready with plenty of extra elixirs. They’d amassed a fair bit of weapons from the monsters, including rusty ones they could throw at the octoroks to revitalize, and even had what would probably be enough arrows. All that was left was to go for it.

“Are you ready?”

Link looked up from the cooking pot, having just finished with the last of the elixirs they could make. With a heavy sigh, he dropped it into their inventory and stood, looking her over.

“You’ve got all your arrows and a few different bows for when that one inevitably breaks mid-battle?” Zelda nodded. “All those ironshell crab meals we made?” She nodded again. “And spears on the off chance it gets near you?” Another nod. He sighed. “Alright. Let’s go.”


	7. War's End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelink Month Day 25: War's End

 

“Oh Hylia.”

Zelda stopped dead in her tracks as she stared down at the Sheikah Slate in shock. The knight by her side was immediately on high alert, hand on the hilt of his sword and scanning the area around them.

“What?” he asked.

“We haven’t taken pictures of a Hateno Cow, a Highland Sheep, or a Hylian Retriever.” She looked up to see Link scowling at her. “What?”

“I thought something was wrong,” he sighed, dropping his shoulders as they continued walking. Having just made their way back to shore from the island, the two had fought through a group of lizalfos on the beach, trudged through the sand, and were now wearily making their way up the hill back to Hateno Village. They were tired and in dire need of rest, but Zelda now felt a newfound drive coursing through her.

“Something _is_ wrong,” she insisted. “I can’t believe I’ve missed them when they’ve been at stables and villages all over the place! Link,” he turned to her with a look that told her he already knew where this was going. “We have to stop by the pasture before we go home.”

He pursed his lips in a mild glare, but she kept her gaze steady, and soon enough those blue eyes were rolling in defeat. “Okay, we’ll stop by the pasture. But we are _not_ visiting Purah—or anyone else—before sleeping.”

She giggled and squeezed his hand, pulling him closer to lean into his arm. “Understood.”

The sun had just begun to dip below the horizon when the familiar red rooftops of their village came into view. Koyin, the nice young woman at the pasture, was the first to greet them.

“Link! Princess! You’ve been gone for so long, we were starting to wonder if you’d moved away.” Zelda thought she saw the woman glancing at their hands, but she couldn’t be sure. “Will you be staying in town for a while?”

“Hopefully,” Link replied, “If Zelda doesn’t drag us out on more adventures too soon.” With a teasing poke in his side, she decided to leave the conversation to him and go take her pictures.

She hadn’t been gone even five minutes, but when she returned, Link was scratching the back of his head—something he only does when nervous—and had a blush across his cheeks that glowed even in the evening twilight. They bid Koyin goodnight and when they were a safe distance away, she asked. “What happened?”

“N-Nothing,” he replied, terribly unconvincingly. She opened her mouth to press on, but another voice intruded.

“Link! Princess! Welcome back!” The woman’s smiling face shone in the dazzling blue light of the ancient flame next to her where she sat and watched the windmills.

“Ralera,” Zelda greeted as they walked past. “Your father asked us to say hello! He and the raft are doing well.”

“Oh! Thank you!” Though she seemed surprised—even _they_ didn’t know they would be going to Lurelin Village when they left—she still gave them her trademark sweet smile. Her pleasant hum trailed after them down the hill.

“I’ll be honest,” Zelda said quietly, “I wasn’t expecting people to notice our absence so much.”

“I think…” he began.

“Zelda! Link!!”

“Link! Zelda!”

“Princess! Link! You’re back!”

“…we may have made ourselves a home here.”

All the children running around town, Uma sitting under the tree, Ivee sweeping outside the shop—it seemed they couldn’t take two steps without having their names called out. Neighbors’ greetings as they made their way through the village were—as exhausted as they were—incredibly heartwarming. When she was younger, she had been accustomed to people greeting her wherever she went of course, but those were all people working in the castle, and their form of greeting was bowing their heads as she walked past. To have people here wave to her with a smile—especially the children who referred to her by name—was something else entirely. As Link said, it really did feel like home.

Dusk had just fallen as the two finally crossed the bridge over to their house. Sitting by the cooking pot, right where they’d left them, were Bolson and Karson, looking as relaxed as ever.

“Oh my,” Bolson chimed as they approached, “you’ve returned after all.”

Zelda giggled. “Still enjoying your retirement, I see.”

“As are you, it would seem,” the man remarked. He cast a knowing look at their hands where they were clasped together and raised an eyebrow. That was at least the fourth look like that they’d gotten in the last ten minutes, Zelda was sure she wasn’t imagining it. Her brows pinched together in confusion and she looked at Link for answers. Then realized that blush had returned.

Wait.

“Karson, let’s go home. These two deserve their alone time now that the war’s over.”

Link’s ears went red then as the old man winked and walked away, his underling in tow.

“Goodnight, you two,” the latter sang. And with that, the ex-princess and her retired knight were left alone.

“We…” she began slowly, finally connecting the dots. “We haven’t been back here since…since we…”

He nodded, a sheepish smile taking to his lips. She found her own reflecting it with a giggle as she tightened her grip on his hand and started inside.

“It’s good to be home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~The End~
> 
> Next week's fic continues with these two, but it's all NSFW, so I purposely made this the main resolution in case readers didn't want to go there. Thank you for reading! <3


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